Georgia’s Road to Tara Museum expands Civil War exhibit

The Road to Tara Museum in Jonesboro, Ga., is expanding its Civil War exhibit.

The exhibit formerly existed in a portion of the museum, but now includes two rooms dedicated to the commemoration and remembrance of the Civil War’s Atlanta Campaign and the Battle of Jonesboro. The new exhibit will be open to the public beginning Labor Day weekend.

The expansion’s opening coincides with the final year of the Sesquicentennial celebration of the Civil War. This newly expanded area includes a hand-created diorama depicting the final day of the Battle of Jonesboro, authentic artifacts and stories of people who died in the Battle.

“The expanded exhibits at the Road to Tara museum in Jonesboro come at a terrific time,” Kevin Langston, the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s deputy commissioner for tourism, said in a statement. “As America commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and, in particular, of the Atlanta Campaign, this new exhibit tells stories that will enable visitors to more fully understand the impact that the Civil War had on our state. It is a great addition to Georgia’s tourism industry.”

Museum officials say the expanded exhibit allows visitors to see the real history before stepping into the balance of the museum which focuses on Hollywood’s and Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind.

“We are very excited to open up this expanded part of the museum,” Danielle Conroy, Director of Marketing and Management at the Clayton County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said in a release. This gives visitors the chance to take in more of the actual history of the area and its people before stepping into the fictional history of Gone With The Wind. We hope visitors will enjoy the addition focusing on a part of Georgia’s and Jonesboro’s history.”